The HRM plans to convert the Armdale Rotary to a roundabout and add a third, reversible lane on Chebucto Road in order to improve the efficiency of the rotary.
Andrea McQuillin, a homeowner in the area, says, “I think this is short-sighted. I don’t even think it’s a solution,” adding she and her neighbours would not oppose the expansion if they thought it would really make a difference to local traffic.
According to Ken Reashor, the municipality’s Traffic and Right-of-Way Services manager, the biggest differences between roundabouts and rotaries are the yield rules and angles of entry.
Last September the provincial government revised the Motor Vehicle Act to clarify confusion about who has right of way in rotaries or roundabouts. Now, vehicles trying to enter must yield to traffic already in the circle, and sharper entry angles (30 to 60 degrees) force them to slow down.
After the new legislation came into effect, the city posted some yield signs at Armdale Rotary, but the majority of drivers still seem to follow the every-other-car rule.
Although previous studies and traffic models offer no projected numbers, Reashor believes the changes listed above will reduce congestion within the circle. The theory is that cars with right of way inside the circle will drive through more quickly, while reduced entry speeds create traffic gaps that make room for new vehicles to enter.
“The rotary lanes sometimes get tied up because people are starting and stopping for people trying to enter, rather than having a free-flow type situation that maximizes the capacity of the roundabout itself,” explains Reashor.
Reashor says expanding Chebucto Road is key to the success of the roundabout because exit problems cause traffic to back up within the circle. When asked why extending the third lane on Chebucto is a higher priority than extending the third lane on St. Margaret’s Bay Road, Reashor says, “We are not trying to increase traffic on St. Margaret’s Bay Road. We’re not intending to upgrade St. Margaret’s Bay Road to handle more traffic…What we’re trying to do is allow Chebucto to handle the flow that’s already there.”
Ultimately, Reashor would like more people to use Highway 102 and Bayers Road to get onto the peninsula. Although there are planned improvements for Bayers Road, Reashor says the Armdale/Chebucto change is happening first because “this one is a fairly easy expansion,” and must be done to help drivers use the roundabout properly.
David McCusker, the City’s Regional Transportation Planning manager, admits that the roundabout conversion and Chebucto Road expansion may not improve traffic flow significantly. “Obviously we think there’s enough value to the project to make it worthwhile, otherwise we wouldn’t be suggesting it,” says McCusker. “But it’s not a really major change.”
So far, the city has budgeted $3.3 million for design and construction. Construction may not start until the spring or summer of 2007, because the roundabout is still in its preliminary design phase. The Chebucto Road expansion also depends on acquiring land from property owners who oppose the changes. A petition with 197 signatures was submitted to Halifax Regional Council on February 28. The petition requests public discussions with the city regarding the proposed changes, and lists specific concerns, including a potentially increased danger to pedestrians, complications for homeowners, and more noise and air pollution.
McQuillin also wants to know why the city intends to proceed with a plan that encourages more traffic, instead of focusing on approaches that reduce existing traffic—things like express buses, transit-only lanes, encouraging carpooling or adding a Northwest Arm ferry service.
“Only 60,000 people live on the peninsula and 300,000 live off the peninsula,” says McQuillin. “So there’s tremendous pressure to open it up. But I think we’re not opening it up to people, we’re opening it up to cars. We’re just making it a big parking lot.”
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2006.
Your article on the potential expansion of Chebucto Road above the rotary makes some excellent points, most notably that any changes to the rotary or nearby roads will not alleviate traffic congestion in any real way. I completely agree that wider roads, on the whole, is not what Halifax needs. At the same time, many Halifax streets need “tuning” to keep traffic flowing smoothly and safely. There are many examples of lanes that end with little warning only to restart a hundred meters on, or intersections that don’t line up causing confusion for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Chebucto Road is one of these weird little bottlenecks – a large, 2-3 lane intersection at the Rotary, and 6(!) lanes of traffic at the top of the hill on Chebucto Road, yet only two lanes (that’s one in each direction) for a portion of Chebucto Road between MacDonald and the Rotary. This is a classic, Halifax bottleneck. Will wadding a lane get more cars onto the peninsula faster? Not really, but that’s ok. It WILL allow the existence of a bus-only lane or a cycling lane, and that’s a worthwhile pursuit. Some concerns of local homeowners are valid, although I have to disagree with a few of them. An increased danger to pedestrians? Maybe during construction. Complications for homeowners? Maybe during construction. More Noise and air pollution? If cars don’t have to stop due to constrictions on Chebucto Road, there will be LESS noise and pollution because these cars don’t have to stop – cars are heavy and it takes a lot of energy (read: gas, which produces noise and pollution) to get them moving again. I cycle this stretch of road and am intimately aware of the traffic pattern, since I can usually pass two dozen stopped cars on the way up the hill, then deal with the fumes as they get going again. Lastly, the suggested improvements by Ms. McQuillin are great, and two of them can be addressed by widening this short stretch of Chebucto Road to add a cyling lane and transit/HOV lane. To her suggestions I would add taxing vehicles which enter the peninsula (like many European cities) to reduce traffic and encourage these aforementioned alternatives.
Thank you for your article on yet another costly and ineffective HRM traffic scheme for the Armdale Rotary.The HRM entity politicians behind this are off peninsula councilors, notably Linda Mosher. Linda Mosher is lacking in any common sense and has gone way TOO FAR in supporting road widening on Chebucto Road and supporting TAKING residential property so that commuter traffic will flow FASTER in the peak times.The rotary IS FINE THE WAY IT IS. The problem is HRM’s traffic management and HRM Councilor’s approving excessive, sprawling residential sprawl development in Mainland South and western Halifax County, and the cost is borne by the residents of Peninsular Halifax. Suburban sprawl is NOT the fault of Halifax Peninsular residents.Instead of a Rotary re-design ‘treatment’ which will FAIL almost immediately, we need PAY TOLL controls on ALL access points to the City of Halifax, on the Peninsula. The Bridge Commission could easily set up TOLL BOOTHS at the Rotary, at the Bayers Road access, and at the Fairview Overpass access.This would help to pay for road maintenance on the Peninsula and MORE BADLY NEEDED TRAFFIC COPS in the city, and on the commuter highways.More people may be inclined to use transit under such a traffic management user pay toll plan.The HRM entity staff and politicians caused the suburban sprawl MESS, most of it since 2000, when KELLY and his crew took over. Most of these councilors appear inept and stupid when it comes to traffic and development, and take the side of land developers, who COST TAXPAYERS HUGE AMOUNTS in providing the expensive municipal infrastructure, maintenance and services this IDIOTIC suburban development brings.NO PENINSULAR Taxpayer or citizen should support yet MORE HRM ENTITY STUPIDITY, by allowing this ROTARY CONTRUCTION. It is NOT even a TEMPORARY FIX.IT IS TIME TO STOP LISTENING TO THE BOOBS IN HRM. I THINK the HRM politicians should be made to RESIGN for their idiotic support of idiotic HRM staff proposals which threaten all City of Halifax citizens.Citizens and taxpayers in the City of Halifax, on the Peninsula, would be far better off seceding from the HRM entity and becoming a LEGAL PENINSULAR CITY once again.